Jim Boeheim's GMac comments suggest he's not part of Syracuse coach search committee

A committee is being formed to assist in the search for the next Syracuse men's basketball head coach, I'm told.

While I don't yet know who is on the search committee, one person who likely isn't on it is former legendary Orange head coach Jim Boeheim, the Hall of Famer who retired from that post after 47 years in March of 2023.

Why do I say this? It's pretty simple. Boeheim, in interviews, has discussed potential candidates for the 'Cuse head coaching vacancy, and that would appear to eliminate him from being on this search committee.

For another critical appointment at Syracuse University, the next athletics director to replace the retiring John Wildhack, a seven-member search committee was formed to aid in finding Wildhack's successor.

On Thursday, Syracuse announced that Toledo athletics director Bryan Blair would become the new 'Cuse athletics director. Blair, known for his fundraising prowess, has said that the search for the next Syracuse basketball head coach, to replace the fired Adrian Autry, is underway.

A source tells me that members of the search committee that focused on the next athletics director had to sign confidentiality agreements that barred them from discussing potential candidates. It would seem logical that members of the search committee being formed for the new Syracuse basketball head coach would have to sign similar agreements.

As such, if Boeheim were on this search committee, he wouldn't be making the sort of public statements he has made in recent days; namely, discussing his former player and an assistant coach under him, Siena head coach Gerry McNamara.

Jim Boeheim says that GMac should be a Syracuse basketball head coach candidate.

Now, to be fair, even if Boeheim isn't a part of a formal search committee, it's highly likely that new athletics director Blair is picking his brain about the Syracuse basketball program, along with other stakeholders or people in the know (hi, Carmelo Anthony).

McNamara is in his second season guiding the Saints, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ("MAAC") member that is headed to the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will find out its seeding and bracket on Selection Sunday (March 15).

In an interview with SU alum and sportscaster Adam Schein, Boeheim said in part that he thinks GMac should be considered this offseason for any "good" head coaching vacancy around the country, although Boeheim didn't mention Syracuse by name.

In an interview with CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, though, Boeheim said that McNamara should be a candidate for the opening at the 'Cuse. Boeheim noted that the most important thing for this job is to "get the best coach possible," whether he has former ties to SU or not.

"If he went to Syracuse, that shouldn't be held against him," Boeheim said, speaking generally. Should GMac be the Orange's next head coach, Boeheim said the fan base would be happy, even if some critics want an outsider.

Boeheim then goes on to say that McNamara is technically an outsider right now, because he is the head coach at Siena. "He's proven himself outside," Boeheim says of his former standout guard, one of the most beloved Syracuse basketball players ever who was instrumental in SU winning a national championship in 2003.

Boeheim says the Syracuse basketball job is a "good" one. He once again reiterated that the team's total NIL budget (direct revenue-sharing and third-party funds) needs to improve, but Boeheim also acknowledged that the facilities are great and even with a poor 2025-26 season, SU's attendance remains among the highest in the country.

It's a time of much change on the Hill, with a new chancellor and a new athletics director in place, and a new Syracuse basketball head coach coming soon. Boeheim says that Blair's hiring of the next 'Cuse hoops boss "will be the most important thing he ever does in his life."

No pressure, or anything.